The thrilling story of precious statues stolen in the highlands of Nghe An
(Baonghean.vn) - In the highland villages, there are Buddha statues that have been strictly protected by the entire community for hundreds of years. Some statues have even been lost up to 7 times but have finally returned to the community's management in a thrilling way.
The statue was stolen 7 times.
One day at the end of the year, we were led by Mr. Vi Dinh Phuc - Chairman of the People's Committee of Luong Minh Commune (Tuong Duong District) to admire a Buddha statue said to be made of black bronze. The statue was carefully locked with many layers, placed inside the main cultural house in the center of La village. This is the common property of the whole village, considered by her as a treasure, passed down from hand to hand for hundreds of years.
Talking about the history of the statue, Mr. Phuc said that more than 200 years ago, a local official called on all the people in the area to contribute copper to cast a Buddha statue to pray for favorable weather, peace and prosperity for the country. This official was a son of La village. “At that time, this official called on each household to contribute a coin. But when it was cast the first time, the statue was missing a leg. When it was cast the second time, it was missing an arm. Later, when asked, we learned that there was a widow who had not contributed a coin. After asking her to contribute, the third time it was cast, it was complete as it is now,” Mr. Phuc said.
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| The statue is carefully locked inside a glass cabinet. Photo: Tien Hung |
The statue bears the typical characteristics of Theravada Buddhism. It is over 70cm tall and weighs 57kg. After being stolen many times, the top part of the statue has been lost and has now been replaced with another material. In addition, there is a small crack on the front of the Buddha statue's chest after being thrown into a stream by a thief.
After the official who cast the statue passed away, the statue was handed over to La village to manage, considered the property of the whole village. The village elders and village chiefs passed down the protection of the statue to each other. Before, when there was no community cultural house, the statue was kept in the house of the village chief. Also a son of La village, Mr. Vi Dinh Phuc said that since he was a child, he has witnessed the statue being stolen 7 times. The first time was in 1973, and the most recent was in 2018. Each time it was stolen, the whole village contributed money to slaughter the pig and hold a ceremony. At the same time, they divided up to look for it. And after each time, the statue returned to La village in a thrilling way.
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| Close-up of the statue being protected by the whole La village. Photo: Tien Hung |
Mr. Lo Van Hien - Head of La village said that once, a thief carried the statue into the forest, but maybe because it was too heavy, he left it in the stream. The villagers then followed the trail and found it again. The last time the statue was stolen was on a rainy night in early 2018. This time, the thief broke into the door of the cultural house and stole the statue. It was not until early the next morning that the villagers discovered it. Like the previous times, the whole village gathered to identify the suspects, slaughtered a pig, prayed, and organized a search. But this time, it took more than 5 months for the statue to return to the villagers. This is also the longest time the statue has been stolen.
Mr. Vi Dinh Phuc said that at that time he was the Chairman of the Commune People's Committee. Even though it has been more than 5 months since the theft, the people of La village still have not given up hope of finding the statue back.
“Back then, people saw a pickup truck regularly passing through the village, going in and out several times a day, so they became suspicious. The village then assigned people to follow it and saw that this truck stopped at a point near the end of the village and then turned back. Once, the man in the car even ran down to the edge of the Nam Non River as if he was looking for something. The group of young men assigned to follow the task then reported to the village management board. Realizing that these were the thieves who stole the Buddha statue and that the statue had not yet been moved out of the area, the whole village began to search along the riverbank. Not long after, the statue was discovered hidden under the riverbank, covered with leaves,” said Mr. Vi Dinh Phuc, adding that most of the times the statue was stolen, the thieves had the help of some young men in the village. The young men who participated in stealing the statue are now in prison, and some have died from drug addiction.
Sacred ancient tower
Upstream of Nam Non, about 4 hours by boat from La village, Yen Hoa villagers and My Ly commune government (Ky Son district) are also protecting bronze Buddha statues that the locals consider treasures day and night. These statues were stolen from Yen Hoa ancient tower by thieves. The ancient tower and the Buddha statues here also bear the strong characteristics of Theravada Buddhism.
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| Yen Hoa ancient tower. Photo: Tien Hung |
This ancient tower is about 30 meters high, and is believed to have been built in the 7th century. The tower body has very unique patterns. This is the largest tower and also the only remaining tower here. Previously, in My Ly there was a complex of ancient towers, but over time they all collapsed, and now there are no ruins left. Standing in front of this ancient tower, we could not help but feel sad when witnessing dozens of holes from the base of the tower to the top. These are all traces left after each time thieves chiseled the tower to steal the bronze Buddha statue.
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| The hole was once drilled by a thief to steal a bronze Buddha statue. Photo: Tien Hung |
Mr. Luong Van Bay - Chairman of the People's Committee of My Ly commune said that in the past, there were many black bronze Buddha statues inside this ancient tower. However, about 20 years ago, when black bronze was in vogue, thieves began to break into the ancient tower to steal the Buddha statues inside. "Wherever there was a drawing of a Buddha statue on the outside, there was a bronze statue like that inside. Therefore, thieves kept targeting that location to break into and steal the black bronze statues to sell," Mr. Bay said. In just a short time, holes appeared all over the body of the ancient tower. That was also the reason why this tower was seriously degraded, at risk of collapsing at any time.
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| This tower is in danger of collapsing, mainly due to thieves breaking into it to steal the Buddha statue. Photo: Tien Hung |
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| 5 bronze statues are being protected by My Ly commune authorities. Photo: Tien Hung |
However, not long after that, Yen Hoa people discovered that many statues were secretly returned by thieves, placed inside the holes in the tower. To date, 7 bronze Buddha statues have been returned. Most of the thieves who stole the Buddha statues were from other localities. After stealing the Buddha statues, the families often encountered misfortune. So many people accidentally sold them but still tried to redeem them to bring them back. Currently, fearing that they would continue to be lost if placed in the ancient tower without protection, 5 Buddha statues are being strictly protected by My Ly commune, while the other 2 statues are kept by the Yen Hoa village management board. "We plan to return these remaining statues to the ancient tower after it is restored and embellished. But now, if we leave them inside the tower, we are afraid they will continue to be lost," said the Chairman of the People's Committee of My Ly commune.